and easy smiles, but he urges me along with his hand on the small of my back.
Until we reach the group of cheerleaders. They yell his name and shout questions, and he pauses to chat. I’m sure he knows all of them.
Hopefully not that well.
“And who is this little lady?” A beautiful blonde talks to Poppy, who loves the attention and babbles her greetings.
“This is…” Rider coughs. “This is my daughter.”
They stare, mouths open.
Oh.
Oh.
I should pat myself on the back for the NDAs. But I’m surprised this bombshell hasn’t been screamed across campus, despite those forms I made everyone sign with the threat of impending death if they gossiped.
However, I’m guessing this isn’t how Rider wanted to unveil his daughter to the town of Charming.
The girls check me out and give me dirty looks as though I somehow trapped this guy into having a baby.
Of course, Zoe Evans, my former co-worker and backstabber extraordinaire, is in the middle of the group, whispering to her friends. For the life of me, I have no idea what I did to make this girl my enemy.
You picked a fine day to dress comfortably in sweats with minimum makeup, Gabriela.
I want to yell I’m not the mother, that I didn’t do anything to Rider, but I get momentarily distracted by thoughts of all the things I did do to him last night.
I force myself out of the fantasy and glance around at everyone staring at us. If Rider wanted to keep Poppy a secret, for privacy or to minimize the drama, coming here today was a bad idea.
40
GABBY
“Do you want to get some food to go?” I whisper as we pull away from the table. Internally, I cringe. Did he not just make a big declaration about needing his life to be drama-free?
“No, it’s okay,” he says stiffly as we take the back booth, which is set apart a little from the rest of the dining room.
I help him get Poppy out of the carrier, and since he looks like he needs a minute, I set her on my lap and get out her apple sauce.
The waitress takes our order but doesn’t say anything about Poppy, thankfully. Of course, since she’s sitting in my lap, maybe that takes the focus off of Rider.
“You haven’t taken her out in public yet, have you?” I rip the foil off the container of apple sauce with my teeth so I don’t lose my grip on the baby.
He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “No, and I hadn’t thought past how nice it would be to get her out of the house for a little while. Get some fresh air. Maybe take her to the park. Try to make up for the fact that she’s gone from one babysitter to the next all week.”
I give him a sympathetic smile. “You’re doing the best you can. It won’t always be like this. And look”—I bounce her in my lap and she giggles—“she’s perfectly happy and doing great.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“Isn’t it? The plan, I mean. Love her, feed her, change her, get her to bed at a reasonable hour. Survive the season. Then you can reprioritize a little. Spend more time with her.”
He stares out the window. With the sun in his face, I notice the circles under his eyes.
Hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t have gone to the party last night.
A pained sigh leaves him. “This is nothing. Wait until the press gets wind of my situation.”
Worry snakes its way into my heart. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Which reminds me… My heart pounds as I open my mouth and pause. Don’t chicken out, Gabriela. Be an adult and ask! “I hate bringing this up right now, but have you had any luck tracking down her mother?”
It’s not the question I want to ask, the one I’m screaming in my head. Who is the mother?
His cheeks turn ruddy as he shakes his head. “Not sure what I’d say to her if I did.”
For some reason, his embarrassment eases some of my own anxiety.
I reach across the table and take his hand. “I’m not trying to embarrass you by bringing her up, but do you know how you’ll answer those questions the media will raise about her?” Because if he’s not ready to talk to a few people at the diner about Poppy, much less her mother, then he’s probably not ready to take on the press.
“Not a fucking clue.” He groans, his eyes anguished as he